Solar Carport: Everything You Need to Know

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Products that help bring households clean, renewable energy have become more advanced and customer friendly in the last few years—and we don’t see this changing any time soon. A recent technological invention just so happens to make it easier for those who want to adopt renewable energy practices in their homes, without installing solar panels on the roof of their house.

Yes, we’re talking about solar panel carports. The new and improved way for homeowners to get the most out of renewable energy, solar carports, while not as widespread or popular as rooftop solar panels, are quickly becoming the product to invest in for entirely valid reasons.

What are solar carports?

Like parking lots with solar power, new solar carport structures are just another innovative way to bring renewable energy into your home (or to power your electric vehicle) while being quite functional. Basically, solar carports are overhead canopies that offer shade and security to park your car under while also helping bring some renewable energy into your home. Built on top of these canopies are solar panels!

These solar panels are basically identical to solar panels you’ve probably seen on top of roof houses. With the installation of solar panel carports in your home, you’re able to bring that lovely solar energy into your house, while also providing some shelter for your cars.

These installations are quite useful for those who might not have a sturdy home roof to put solar panels on. This alternative is also incredibly beneficial to those who really want to convert to using more renewable energy, yet can’t because of the way their roof is angled or because they’ve realized panels on their house roof is just not doable.

Solar carports, as we mentioned briefly above, aren’t as common, widespread, or prevalent in the United States residential field as renewable energy products such as rooftop solar panels. However, commercially speaking, these carports have become quite popular. Now that solar panel installation companies have seen the rise in interest—and the increase in benefits—concerning these carports, they are growing much more popular in the homeowner sect of America!

Everything you need to know about solar carports

Obviously, to get the best out of these solar carports, installation is critical. You need to make sure this structure is built in an area of your property where the panels will get the most sun. As you may know, much like solar panels on rooftops, you won’t get any of the many advantages renewable energy can provide if your solar panels don’t get any sun.Because this structure is something you can plan accordingly and change the area it will be installed in (which is opposite of the planning process of home rooftop solar panels), you have the time to make sure this step is donecorrectly.

Because of the lack of land needed to install these solar carports or patio covers (compared to solar ground mounts, that is), there are actually some states that have incentives for those who decide to install solar carports instead of other forms of renewable energy products!

Solar carports, as we mentioned above, are not necessarily the most popular option for homeowners at the moment. Therefore, the price to install these solar panels is slightly higher than solar panels on home rooftops. However, because they are growing in popularity quite quickly, many believe these prices will soon go down.

The benefits of solar carports

There are many benefits to installing solar carports. Of course, the most important advantage is that you can bring renewable and clean energy into your home by merely installing these panels. We don’t know about you, but that seems pretty beneficial to us.

Possibly one of the most significant benefits of installing solar carports on your property, versus any other solar panel or renewable energy product, has to be the amount of savings you can experience. Renewable energy has always been an excellent opportunity to save money and solar carports are no different. In fact, in recent studies, it has been shown that solar carports are both viable assets homeowners can have while also showing that the percentage need met was higher than any other solar panel product.

Who can benefit from solar carports the most?

While solar carports really can benefit basically everyone who wants to adopt more renewable energy practices into their everyday life, solar carports are quite beneficial to certain people. For those who did not qualify for solar panels to be installed on their rooftops, solar carports are the most realistic and profitable way to go.

A lot of people who don’t qualify for rooftop solar panels (because there is not a big enough system for their home or because there isn’t enough room on their roof) are often directed toward ground mount solar panels. Much like the name suggests, these solar panels are mounted on the ground and produce energy in the same way that both carport and home rooftop solar panels do (from the sunlight).

However, ground mount solar panels aren’t necessarily as beneficial as they could be. For one, these solar panels only work if you actually have room and land space on your property. Obviously, this isn’t doable if you live in a city or if your property doesn’t have the land that these solar panels need. This is where solar carports are the best option.

Do solar carports take up some room on your property? Yes, but not as much as ground mounts do. Because solar carports are raised canopies, you have a lot of viable room underneath these canopies where you can store things (namely, your car or cars). Solar carports really don’t take up a lot of room and you can play around with the size and get the best possible carport that fits on your property.

Solar carports, while not as prevalent as rooftop solar panels or ground mount solar panels, are slowly making their way across the United States as a viable option to bring some renewable, clean energy into homes. With really no negatives to these installations, they can deliver excellent results to those who want to adopt a more clean energy lifestyle in their daily lives but aren’t qualified for rooftop solar panels.